Avatar the Last Airbender and Legend of Rai Clan
by Brandey
Summary: Raised in the fire nation, Kirin's biggest ambition was to become a legendary warrior and finally have great leaders like her father acknowledge her. Going undercover as a male soldier, she travels the nations and discovers more about herself and her identity and what her true path really is. A story of friendship and adventure. OC/Zuko. Set during series. Pictures included.
1. Prologue: War Tales

This is my first Avatar the last Airbender story featuring my OC, I had this idea in mind for ages but never had time to put words to papers so there it is. First the prologue, short but I will post the first chapter soon after.

For photos from the fiction, tumblr URL: **brandey posts . tumblr . com** (no spaces)

Song recommendation: Kate Simko & London Electronic Orchestra - xx Intro

 _ **Disclaimer:** I do not own the Avatar characters._

* * *

 **Prologue: War Tales** **軍記物語**

A storm swirled and rumbled over the fire nation. It was the middle of the night when lightning struck loudly and a little girl was abruptly awakened from her sleep. Screaming in fear, her mother heard this and ran to her room.

"Mommy, I'm scared of the storm" she spoke softly, hiding her face in her bed sheets. It was always like this during a big storm, the little girl always feared them -especially at night.

The mother approached her and sat by the bedside, gently patting her head in comfort. "Do you want to me to stay with you for a bit."

The little girl hugged her mother tightly, "Tell me a story mommy."

"About a brave hero?" she asked curiously.

The little girl nodded and the fear in her eyes was replaced by excitement. She sat by her mother and began to listen.

"From the forbidding heights of the fire nation's Tail Mountains which wind their way to a hidden village, in its shadow lived proud and strong people. They who were descended from the great spirit of Raijin, they who were destined to protect our home land."

The little girl chuckled, followed by a hushing noise from her mother. What the young girl loved to hear most of all were the tales of antiquity. With wide eyes and open ears, she would sit as her mother would tell the tales of the old warriors, and how the spirits had come to share their powers with them. Of how the humans and spirit lived divided and of how the Avatar had guarded the nations and the spirit world, he of mighty power, came to dwell amongst the mortal world and the spirit world as the protector, giving rise to the times of peace with each reincarnation.

The mother continued "And among the village lived a boy born for great things. A full measure bigger and quieter than most youths his age, one of five brothers was possessed of a fearsome strength that rivaled that of a full-grown warrior. He could carry a half-dozen pails of milk with ease, and wield an axe twice his size as if it were a hatchet. So talented was he that he often joined the men in their hunts, leading them to laugh and proclaim that he was destined to be named the most radiant…" the mother suddenly stopped her tale as she heard footsteps coming towards the room. Her husband walked in with a displeased look on his face.

"Let her be, it's just a storm." He spoke firmly, not leaving his sight from the mother. He ushered her to leave and she kissed her daughter's forehead and whispered in her ear "Fear is only as deep as the mind allows."

"I told you to stop telling her these ridiculous made-up tales. Who will she grow up to be? Scared of her own shadow, with her mother trying to brave and save her from the smallest things!" The father raised his voice but hushed quickly to not allow the little girl to hear.

She was left alone in her dark room, thinking of the story and how it ends, giving her courage to endure this stormy night.


	2. Ch 1: Decision (Book 1 - Water)

This is the second chapter, it will follow the books through the show. Enjoy and please review if you liked it.

 _ **Disclaimer:** I do not own the Avatar characters._

* * *

 _ **Book 1:** **Water**_

 **Ch. 1 Decisions** **決定**

Kirin, a young fire nation girl, celebrated her 16th birthday today. This age marked her time as a young woman, and more importantly, she was now old enough to marry. She sat by the pond in her home's garden, looking at the reflection before her. The day had arrived quicker than she would have liked, and she felt nowhere prepared to be married off and bare the responsibilities that come with it.

Mina looked at her daughter from their porche, guilt swirled within her as she saw Kirin's head bowed in sadness. The housemaid approached the worried mother, "Mina, she is strong like you, she will make a great wife and in time she will adjust to her new life."

"Thank you Sorana, let's prepare some dinner for tonight. It's a special evening today."

Tomorrow was the day that Kirin would leave home and begin a new life, and exactly a week from now her wedding day will take place. As a mother, Mina could sense her daughters worry about her upcoming engagement and wedding, but it was tradition and there was little room to argue. Her husband, Commander Zhao, had arranged the marriage months before Kirin's birthday.

The boy whom she would marry was two years older, young fire nation soldier from a noble military family. It was seen as a great honor that Kirin would be married off to him. The boy's family had visited their household to discuss the details of the arranged marriage. Both Kirin and her future husband were not present, as they are to meet at their engagement celebration which will be held in the Yu Dao, a town where the boy's family estate is located.

"Kirin, please come in and help us with dinner before father gets home!" Mina tried to sound as cheerful as possible, trying to call in Kirin like she did every evening almost as if pretending to ignore the fact that this would be their last dinner in their household together.

Kirin took one last look at her reflation before hitting the water with her fist. She walked past her mother without saying a word and began to take out the pots to prepare dinner. Her mother followed in and stood next to her daughter. She gently placed a hand on her should trying to comfort the tension between them.

"It's alright mother, I'll be okay." Kirin took her mother's hand off her shoulder and gave her a gentle smile.

Sorana prepared the dining room table for the family while Kirin began to chop the vegetables and Mina prepared the chicken.

"Did you…when father asked you to marry him…did you love him at that time?" Kirin's question broke the silence between them.

Mina thought about her answer for a second, memories flooding the woman's mind. "Not at first," she said, turning around giving Kirin an awkwardly smile, "He was a good man and took care of me, I was happy that I had stability." She turned back around to her work, "Love came later."

"Oh..." Kirin bumped the corner of a kitchen table and accidentally dropped a pot filled with water and vegetables, it splattered all over the kitchen. Sorana rushed to clear the mess. "So sorry," Kirin apologized to Sorana who was already on the floor cleaning the mess, "This always happens, I'm always spilling or burning something!"

"Give it time, being a good housewife is also skill you must acquire," Mino said cheerfully, "But when you do your duties to your husband and your nation, and be a good wife then he will always appreciate you and…"

"Yes I know! If I'm loyal, obedient, quiet and humble then I will be _rewarded_ with a good husband." Kirin's started to raise her voice, "What a pathetic life, I might as well have been sent to the coal mines, I would have been a slave there too!"

"Kirin! How dare you compare such things." It was Mina's turn to raise her voice, "We care for you, your father and I, we would have never married you off to just anyone! He's a good young man and you should be grateful!"

"But I don't love him!" Kirin spat back, "I'm too young for this and I don't feel ready for marriage! I want something more from my life, I told father to hold off arranging a marriage for me but he did not listen, he never listens!"

"We discussed this already, although it may feel like a sacrifice now, in due time you will come to accept and cherish your fate."

Kirin could feel hot tears forming so she quickly turned away from her mother. This was hard for the both of them and she knew. She did not want her mother to carry a burden of guilt for what was mainly her father's choice but the emotions that flooded Kirin came like crashing waves.

Mina hugged Kirin from the back, placing her chin on her daughter's head.

"You will do us proud, keep your father standing tall and bring our family's name honor." Her words were much softer now.

"I always knew that the day would come when I would have to leave home," she spoke, whipping the tears away and sobbing silently, "but I don't feel prepared. I wish I could marry someone I chose, who loves me for me, rather than for politics."

"The life of a woman is not easy, we face many difficult decision, but it is only in our decisions that we are important."

* * *

Commander Zhao returned home gleaming with pride. His new promotion from Capitan to Commander and his daughter's soon-to-be engagement was enough to put the man in a great mood. The women bowed to the highly-ranked officer and greeted him upon his return from another politically related leave.

The family ate their last dinner in silence for the most part. Zhao occasionally questioned Kirin on marriage etiquette while Mina tried changing the subject to questions about her husband's recent journey outside the nation.

"Kirin, recite the final admonition," Zhao ordered.

"Mhm," Kirin whipped her mouth with a tissue cloth, "Fulfill your duties, calmly and respectively. Reflect before you act. This shall bring you honor and glory."

"Good, you will be a great wife to Admiral Dai's son." He stated proudly.

Kirin sighed loudly, "Father, I know this may be out of line…" Kirin hesitated for a moment with her request, eyeing the Commander in order to search his expression for the right choice of words.

Zhao raised an eyebrow to her upcoming question almost as if he could sense what was coming by the doubt in her voice.

She continued, "…but, do you think we can withhold the marriage ceremony, and extend the engagement for a little while, maybe a few months?"

"Nonsense, it has been decided and everything is being prepared for the ceremony, you will go through with this." He said, with a slight annoyance in his voice.

"But I don't feel prepared!" Kirin felt her mother's hand grip hers tightly under the table, silently pleading her to stop.

"I did not ask you for your opinion on this matter, you recite the etiquette by memory but do little to follow through with your studies. I did not raise a hypocrite. This conversation is over." Zhao's voice was starting to rise.

"No it's not, I want to have a say in this, there is still so much I want to do in my life!"

"I'll entertain the idea for a moment, what is it that you want to do?"

Kirin was dumbfounded, it was rare for father to give his audience to her like that. She wondered for a second and shouted the first things that came to her, "I want to travel and learn about the nations, I want to learn how to fight and be independent and, and…"

Zhao slammed his hands on the table, prompting Mina to gasp and Sorana to flinch. Kirin, on the other hand, kept her gaze on Zhao, fierce dark eyes looking at him unbroken. Zhao knew her attitude was awful at times, she was stubborn. He felt the need to deal with this now.

"Alright," He put his chopsticks down and whipped his mouth with a cloth, he stood up and walked over to the teenager, towering over her, "How about this, if you want to fight so bad then how about a sparring session outside. I'll give you a weapon and if you can put even just one scratch on my armor…"

"Zhao!" Mina shouted, "This is our last family dinner, restrain from this, it's unnecessary!"

Zhao put his hand up to silence his wife, "If the girl wants to fight so bad then so be it."

Kirin walked outside and waited for father to place his usual armor. While they have sparred years ago, she had always failed to show promise of fire bending, she was no weapon handler, and her movement was rather sloppy. While she was flexible and quick on her feet, it was never good enough for Zhao to acknowledge and train her further. She tightened her fists in frustration. All she was to him is just a mere lotus tile in his political game, someone he can give away to help his status.

Zhao walked out into the garden carrying a short sword, he tossed it to Kirin who caught it. She raised an eyebrow, realizing that he did not put on his armor.

He took notice of her questioning expression and chuckled, "It's not worth the hassle of putting on the armor, you won't get a clear shot."

Frustrated, Kirin lunged herself at Zhao, sword held with both hands as she leaped and spun, trying to aim at his shoulder. He foresaw her movement and slid away. Each time she swung the blade around, he dodged it swiftly. They were in a close combat situation, Kirin already breaking a sweat. Zhao grinned, hands behind his back and only moved and ducked to avoid her movement.

Once he decided it was enough, he tripped the girl and grabbed the sword mid-air before her fall. "As a daughter you are ideal, but you're a weak warrior, and a non-bender, weakness _disgusts_ me. It's time you've learned your place." With those words, he left her outside while he walked back in. Sorana and Mina watched from the porch concerned.

Kirin dug her fingers in the ground and shut her eyes tightly. Images of all the battles she attempted with father and her solo training sessions flashed before her eyes. Father's words rung loudly in her ears. She was no warrior and showed little promise of being a good wife. She could hear her mother's footsteps. This time though she did not require consolation. Before Mina could get down to her level, Kirin hastily got up and walked off to her room without a word.


	3. Ch 2: The Hidden Spirit

We're commencing with the second chapter, and now we're caught up with the show's story.

Thank you for the kind reviews. Great spotting to the eagled eye reader **Nerdy J Fics** for recognizing my Mulan reference, and yes Zuko is great and I love many fanfics with him and an OC involved, many thanks for the review.

 **Znkp** , thank you and yes the update did come in late this week, I'm balancing work and studying so writing is my leisure, but I will try to update sooner now 😊

If any suggestions are in mind please don't hesitate to write to me. I have an idea of where I will take this story right through to the end, but I am open to any suggestions.

As always, enjoy and review.

* * *

 **Ch. 2 The Hidden Spirit 精神**

The morning came quickly for Kirin, sunrise was upon the fire nation as bright rays shun through the windows of the young woman's room. Today was the day that she would leave home. She did not sleep this night, the argument with father was still fresh in her mind and the overwhelming anxiety of her future engagement and marriage was too much for her mind to rest on. She slid out of bed and walked over to a basin filled with cold water, splashing her face a few times then running the water through her hair.

A knock was heard on the door and soon after Mina slid it open. "Good that you're awake so early young lady, would you like me to help you prepare this morning?" She asked kindly.

Kirin nodded and began to put on her travel clothes, simple but elegant lightweight dress and top that were in the traditional fire nation colors. Once the girl was dressed, she kneeled in front of the mirror and her mother stood behind her, brushing her hair. Mina brushed the girl's tangled dark hair. Her hair was long and always unmanageable, sticking in every direction.

' _Wild and all over the place, like her true personality.'_ Mina thought, a small smile formed on her lips. Kirin took notice of her expression in the mirror and raised an eyebrow.

"Let's put it up traditionally today, up and out of the face." Mina said, placing the girl's hair in a top bun, while the rest of her hair was left flowing down. "Have you already thought about what your wedding dress should look like?"

"It doesn't matter mom, any will do and for any, I will be grateful."

Mina didn't push the subject further, sensing that her daughter was not yet ready to discuss the wedding details.

"The ship is ready and docked, we'll be leaving soon, are you packed?" Zhao's voice caused the girls to look in the direction of the room entrance where he stood. Both were so lost in their own thoughts they did not hear him come in.

"Yes, Father." Kirin stated coldly, trying to sound as respectful as possible to avoid further conflict. Since last night's argument, she coward around father. While on the inside her blood boil in anger, she did not allow herself to let those emotions out, mainly for her mother who would have to listen to father blaming Mina for the erratic behaviors Kirin exhibited from time to time.

A carriage pulled by two komodo rhinos took the family to the dock yard where Zhao's ship was docked and prepared to set sail toward Yu Dao. From there, they boarded the ship. Once on their way out of port and through the great gates of Azulon, Kirin stood by the railing of the ship overlooking the fire nation island.

One last glance;

Her home.

Her family.

Her life.

All was there and will forever stay on the island that slowly faded away into the horizon. She never left the island before, it looked so small and insignificant now. A feeling of emptiness hit her stomach and suddenly she felt very dizzy. This was not sea sickness, but rather a hard hit of reality that felt like an avalanche burying her. She gripped the railing until her fingers turned white. For a brief second, she contemplated jumping off the ship. As she looked down at the rumbling sea below the ship, fear took over and that turned out be stronger than the will to be free. She shook her head, _'Pitiful, hopeless..."_ Kirin though, she couldn't swim and any attempt of escape would end in her drowning.

* * *

They have been traveling for three days before their first stop at Zhao's Earth Kingdom harbor in the morning hours. It was a Fire Nation military station located in the southwestern Earth Kingdom. Having been occupied by the Fire Nation for decades prior to the war's end, the harbor served as a major naval point for ships to dock and resupply. The harbor belonged to Zhao, and as part of his duties as newly appointed Commander, he visited to give orders and assure that the armies under his command were following the correct orders.

It was a chance for the two women aboard the ship to get a proper rest away from the sea. Kirin was not used to this type of traveling, in fact, this was her first trip on a ship. She stumbled and swirled once on land.

Zhao took his wife's hand and helped her down the ship's pathway and onto land. He waved at the servants on board to carry their lugged down. "We'll stay at my harbor overnight, resupply and commence our trip to Yu Dao tomorrow. Not too far to go now, about a day's worth of journey."

As the family walked down the harbor's docks Kirin took in the scenery around her. The Earth Kingdom harbor was located near the foot of a mountain and extended in a long strip of flat land across the shoreline. Naval ships were docked in crevices at the water's edge. Numerous military tents were set up at the back of the harbor, resembling temples in design and exhibiting the red and gold colors of the Fire Nation.

All the fire nation's navy ships were enormous. One ship did stand out in-between all the grand battle ships, it looked heavily damaged and beaten, and it was almost twice smaller in size than the rest. Zhao took notice and raised an eyebrow until he realized who the ship belongs to. With a menacing grin, he let go of his wife's hand, "Pardon me, soldiers will escort you to our quarters. I must pay a visit to the royalties and give them a proper welcoming - It's been a while." Zhao made his way towards the small ship. As Kirin and Mina were escorted by two soldiers, they gave them a small tour and introduction to Zhao's newly acquired asset as Commander.

Kirin glanced over her shoulder to see her father approach an older man and a teenage boy who both wore traditional fire nation uniforms. As they pair of royal newcomers were walking down from the damaged ship, they seemed to be deep in conversation, discussing something import as they did not immediately notice Zhao approach them. The boy seemed displeased to see Zhao, they spoke to one another but Kirin was too far to hear anything.

' _Could he be…that banished Prince?'_ she wondered.

The boy turned to walk away from Zhao and it was at that moment that Kirin noticed the large scar covering a large portion of his face. _'That's him,'_ her eyes widen at the sight, she heard rumors of the son of Fire Lord Ozai, who was banished three years ago. Rumors swirled, from conversation father had with her mother and around the nation, she heard of the misfortune that occurred to him but never actually seen the Prince in person.

A hand gently smacked the back of Kirin's head.

"Kirin don't stare, it's not polite." Mina scolded the girl, Kirin turned back around in the directions that they were heading.

"Mother stop treating me like a little girl, I know my manners and we're in public so this is not necessary."

Mina smiled, "Well obvious sometimes you need a bit of guidance, plus I'm your mother so you'll always be my little girl that needs a smacking across the head from time to time."

"Why does your guidance have to hurt," Kirin laughed while rubbing her head. The soldiers who escorted them had a small smile on their faces as well, amused at the interaction between the women.

* * *

The women were situated in one of the houses close to the port. Mina was refreshing herself in the bathroom after the trip while Kirin read the scrolls which were meant to guide her on marriage etiquette.

"Quiet and demure, graceful, polite, delicate, refined, poised, punctual…" She reached for her cup of tea, eyes still glued to her lecture, but in the process, she knocked the cup which spilled the drink onto her scroll. The drink smeared the writing, "Oh dear, well that's that then, I'll never know how to be an obedient wife. Maybe he will divorce me quicker." She laughed at her own words and threw the scroll at the door.

At the same moment, the door swung open with an enraged Zhao standing before her.

' _Did he hear that?'_ She thought, eyes wide in shock. She scrambled the papers that laid in front of her on the table and hugged the pile.

"I'm just studying the papers now father…"

Zhao walked past Kirin, pushing her out of his way. She stumbled a bit, looking at her father as he grabbed the nearest shodo brush and scroll. He wrote something hastily.

Mina walked out of the bathroom to see her husband writing erratically with eyes that focused on the paper.

"Is everything alright Zhao?" Mina asked.

"Unexpected news and a slight change of plans to my fleet's course, nothing of your concern."

"Are we still sailing to Yu Dao then?" Mina questioned with a raised eyebrow. Kirin's eyes lit up with hope at the possible news of a changed course.

"Of course we are, now do be silent, I need to send word to the fire lord."

After writing the letter and sending the messenger hawk out with the news, the Commander left to speak to his visitors. The women were not informed of the details within the letter. Mina continued to relax after the journey while Kirin was instructed to continue her studies.

Although Zhao usually had an erratic persona to him, his behavior after speaking to the retired General and the banished Prince was quite unusual. Curiosity overwhelmed as she wondered what important news the two visitors passed onto father. Her studies bored her to the point of mind numbness and now she was not able to concetrate on it even more. Kirin decided to sneak out and find out what all the hassle was about. As foolish is as the idea was, anything would be more interesting than the scrolls.

"Mother," Kirin suddenly piped up, "Umm, I'm going to take a bath, freshen my mind a bit."

"Alright but don't be long, we still need to meditate before the sun sets."

Kirin went into the washroom and locked the door from the inside. She popped the window open and slid out of the house and towards the conference tent where father was hosting his meeting. She scurried over to the back of the tent and listen in on the conversation. She could barely make out what was happening inside.

"Uncle, what is Zhao planning, why is he still keeping us here!?"

Kirin deducted that it was the banished Prince voice she just heard.

"Zuko, be patient I'm sure he will allow us to leave soon." General Iroh tried to ease the young hot-headed Prince.

' _Prince Zuko, of course, slipped my mind, the boy's name,'_ she remembered.

There was silence for a good few minutes. Someone entered the tent.

"My search party is ready, once I'm out to sea, my guards will escort you back to your ship and you'll be free to go."

' _That's fathers voice,'_ she recognized.

"Why? Are you worried I'm going to try to stop you?" Prince Zuko questioned.

She heard fathers laugh, filled with much irony and amusement.

"You? Stop me?" Zhao questioned rhetorically, belittling the young Prince at the same time.

"Don't underestimate me, Zhao, I will capture the Avatar before you."

Kirin stopped listening and pulled away from the tent, _'The Avatar,'_ she thought, eyes wide at the sound of the myth, _'So that's what all of this is about, but the Avatar is dead...has been for a century, the cycle ceased to exist._ '

Kirin's mother was the one who many times told her stories of the Avatar, and for Kirin they were nothing but stories, myths and, old tales.

"Maybe you'll like one to match!" The voice of the young Prince was heard now louder. Kirin, slightly taken aback by the sudden outburst, listened in closer once more.

"Is that a challenge?" Zhao asked, almost with a hint of surprise in his voice.

"In Agi Kai, at sunset." Prince Zuko challenged fiercely.

"Very well, it's a shame your father won't be here to see me humiliate you. I guess your uncle will do." Zhao stated very sure of his soon-to-be victory.

Kirin tried to listen in further, but nothing more was said for some time. Suddenly the back of her collar was pulled at harshly and she was thrown away from the tent's wall and down on the hard ground. She faced Zhao who stood above her, his fist tightened as he let out a displeased growl deep in his throat.

"I was just…" she scattered her mind for an excuse but nothing was coming to her. "I'm sorry," She picked herself up from the ground and bowed her head in shame.

"You have become unmanageable and disobeyed me for the last time, I will not tolerate this, nor will your future husband! I intend to _break_ you," the last words were spoken rhetorically, but she knew it was her spirit and her will that he spoke of.

Before Kirin could say anything more, Zhao's hand retreated back and hit her on the left cheek with immense force. The hit knocked her down and split her lip. Kirin was dumbfounded, father had never hit her before. A loud ringing sounded in her ear. This caused quite a scene around them as eyes of soldiers stared at the family drama that unfolded. Zhao's stare was piercing, and even though she did not face him at the moment, she could feel the intensity of the situation.

The sheer embarrassment was too much for Kirin to bare, so she closed her eyes. Zhao grabbed her wrist, bringing her to her feet, and began to drag her away from the staring crowd of soldiers and towards their home in the harbor. The hand that gripped her wrist tightly was scorching hot, burning her as a result of his anger with her.

A lump formed in her throat, a mixture of the most bitter and traumatic emotions swirling through her. At any moment, she expected tears to form. They did not appear, instead, a sudden intense migraine hit her. Her ears were still ringing but what was the most unusual sensation was within her eyes. She covered her eyes with her free hand in response to the awful sensation. Her eyes burned and prickled like fire, while her vision blurred to the rhythm of her rapid pulse. This was a pain like something she had never experience before, a pain that was not a direct result of the previous hit she received, but almost a response from the emotions that she felt deep within.

Zhao slammed the door to the house and threw Kirin onto the floor. Mina immediately reacted and was at her daughter's side.

"What's going on?!" Mina cried in question, oblivious to the whole situation as she though Kirin was in the wash room this entire time.

"This is your doing!" Zhao pointed at Mina, "You raised an ungrateful and disrespectful brat. Get her out of my sight before my patients fully run out!"

Kirin rose to her feet with her mother who held her at the shoulder. The young woman wanted to scream at Zhao, she placed a hand on her stomach. From deep within, she felt a wild sensation that almost wanted to push her towards violence to the man who just humiliated and harmed her. Kirin halted the idea almost instantly. She let her hand fall from her stomach and down to her side, she knew that any more outbursts would not only worsen her situation but could affect her mother's life at home.

She slowly turned and walked off towards her room in silence. Mina noticed the red mark on the cheek along with the bloody lip and twisted her face in sadness at the sight of her beaten daughter.

* * *

A flash of lightning lit the night sky and soon after thunder was heard. Kirin lip twitched in response to the rumble of the weather outside, she hated storms like this. She sat in a meditating pose on her bed, her eyes closed and focused on the breathing. Behind closed doors, tears were now flowing freely from her eyes. She was unable to go into a state of peace in mind, there was a battle within her. It was nightfall upon the harbor, heavy rain poured onto the land. She stayed in her room since the clash with father today. Zhao fought in Agni Kai with the banished Prince. From the argument he had with his wife once he was home, she concluded the battle did not turn out in his favor.

Her mind kept wandering off, but she tried to trail back into a state of complete clearing of thoughts. The sensation she felt earlier, the will to fight, was long gone. Replacing it, was a pit in her stomach that made her feel sick.

Her eyes shot open and her head tilted to the outside world beyond her windows.

' _I will be no one's property, I know I am meant for greater things.'_ She burrowed her brows at the thought and kept on with her breathing exercise.

' _I am strong, I know I can be free if I only desire it strongly enough._ ' The words flowed in her mind as if by themselves.

Zhao's voice crept into her mind, ' _I will break you.'_ the words echoed within.

"No," The wild sensation in her stomach was back. She gripped her night gown shirt at the stomach's level, "Never."

She shot out of her bed onto her two feet. Her eyes had a look of feral in them, like ones of a trapped animal looking for an escape out of hatches.

Her body moved as if by instinct, she slid out of her night gown and into her black work pants and gray long sleeve shirt that was packed for her future work around the house and garden. She packed a smaller bag with a spare set of clothes, brush, sandals. The window in her room was shut from the other end, and guards stood to watch just outside. She slid out of her room and past the living room, then out of the house and out of sight of guards that circled it in shifts.

The heavy rainfall in the night created the perfect cover for Kirin to sneak around the harbor. Night shift guards were away from the armory tent and she found her way into the compartments for all the weapons and armors. She looked around and chose one of the smaller sets which consisted of heavy boots, belt, shoulder and chest-plated armor. She tied her long hair up, slid on a helmet, and began to run across the harbor and through the battle court to avoid the guards in and outside of the tents. This led her to come out the other end where the ships were docked.

Amidst the enormous ships that belonged to her father, she saw the Prince's ship not too far away.

A clap of thunder echoed in the distance. "Am I still able to join the Prince's crew?" she spoke through the rumble of the storm, trying to deepen her voice to further her disguise. Lieutenant Jee eyed the new comer from head to toe while Kirin trying to keep her head slightly bowed.

"Not very well built, but we'll take anyone. What's the name then young soldier?"

"Kuo, sir, my name is Kuo," she repeated herself almost as if trying to adjust to the new identity she had given herself.

"Are you aware of what you are signing onto? This is the ship and crew of the banished Prince. I suggest that if you have other options in the military then go join a more upscale crew. If you have no other choice, then you're welcomed to join"

Kirin tightened her fist, "No other choice sir. I would like to join the Prince's crew."

"Welcome aboard soldier," he said, extending his hand in the direction of the ship's ramp and entrance.


	4. Ch 3: Stowaway

**Authors note: I finally got a pic of Kirin for you guys, visit my Tumblr for it along with a brief description of her: **

Tumblr URL: **brandey posts . tumblr . com** (no spaces)

I hope the writing is clear, the crew thinks Kirin is a boy, referring to her by the name _Kuo_ and _him_. But when I write the perspective and descriptions of various actions, I refer to her as well, _her_ rather than _him_. Hope that makes sense.

Many thanks for the great reviews, they keep me going. Enjoy and review 😊

* * *

 **Ch. 3: Stowaway 密航**

Despite Zuko's orders to leave Zhao's port immediately after his victorious Agni Kai battle with the Commander, it was not possible due to the storm and the severity of it. The skies had cleared in the early hours of the morning, just before sunrise, and once the crew had fully resupplied and repaired all the damages to the ship they were once more out in the open sea ready to commence the mission to search for the Avatar.

Prince Zuko stood on the upper deck overlooking the many ships that left the harbor, all heading in different directions in search of the Avatar. He grunted in frustration.

"What's the matter Zuko?" Iroh asked his nephew attentively.

"We lost precious time Uncle, all of which I could have been searching for _him._ Now Zhao's crew is right on our back and soon every fire bender will be looking for the Avatar!"

"The good news is that we are fully repaired and we have new recruits. The odds couldn't be better for us." The older man spoke while sipping his morning tea.

"New recruits? Why do we need new recruits?!" Zuko voiced his frustration at the fact that he was not involved in this decision.

"A few of our previous ones left the ship, to uh…-" Iroh tried to ease his hot-headed nephew into the information, "-To work for Zhao."

"Because he has a better chance of capturing the Avatar, and gain the glory while I will lose everything in the process." He spoke in a defeated manner while still eyeing the large fleet of ships that Zhao commands.

"Zuko I'm sure they just want the glory, this has nothing to do with you." Iron said cheerfully, "-As for the Avatar..."

"Save it Uncle." Zuko waved his hand to quite him while walking away and towards his room.

"Gather around soldiers!" Lieutenant Jee ordered the existing crew along with the new recruits. He burrowed his brows, he immediately noticed that one man was not present. The senior officer looked through the line-up and noticed that the smallest addition to the crew did not adhere to the earlier orders of protocol to meet after sunrise.

In the mean time, Kirin was out cold and asleep in her new cabin. The nights leading up to her arrival were spent sleeplessly, even the cold and hard bed that was in her chambers felt like a little bit of heaven. Once on-board the banish Price's ship and away from her controlling father the exhaustion caught up to her. She told herself that it would be only a few minutes of a nap, that she would surely wake up before sunrise just like Lieutenant Jee had previously ordered. Too much had happened in her life lately, and only just now had she felt peace in her mind. At least it was enough for her to shut her eyes and catch up on her sleep.

* * *

A loud banging echoed throughout the room.

"I can't deal with this today, Mina, go in and wake her up." Zhao ordered his wife, while he sat back into his desk and studied the map, deducting the direction he will pursue in order to apprehend the Avatar.

Mina obeyed and entered the young girl's room, lightly sliding the door open, "Kirin, we must get going." She peeked inside, "Kirin…?" Her eyes widened at the sight of an empty room, a gasp escaped the woman's lips.

"What's going on?" Zhao questioned impatiently, rising from his seat and pushing past his wife into the young girl's room. His expression was similar to that of his wife, eyes wide in disbelief to find an empty room with Kirin nowhere to be found. The bed was made as if no one slept in it while the contents of her luggage were scattered throughout the room with only a few bits of clothing missing.

"Zhao, where is she?" Mina grew more worried, hand covering her mouth in shock.

"I don't believe this." He stated, and without further explanation, Zhao left to order his men to search all areas of the harbor for the missing teenager.

"Kirin" Mina whispered to herself. The woman approached her own baggage and dug through the clothes. She reached in and took out a small wooden box that she intended to give to her daughter as a leaving gift before her marriage. She opened it looking at the trinket. She let herself fall to the knees in hopelessness. Tears streamed down the worried mother's face.

* * *

"Kuo! Get up boy!" Lieutenant Jee banged at the closed door, "Induction is in process and I will not tolerate your absence at it." The senior officer hit his fist at the door numerously. Kirin swirled in her bed, blinking a few times to take in the new surrounding and the situation she was in. Her eyes shot open when a wave of remembrance came over her.

"In a minute, I'll be out in…" She spoke up while scattering promptly into her uniform. If she was honest with herself, it was uncertain how long she could keep up this charade of identity if she would not get her act together. Luckily her hair was still tied up tightly to conceal her identity, the helmet slid on her head with ease. Hair stuck out in every direction but this was a good enough cover that would not raise too many questions. She wore baggy clothes under her regular uniform, while the chest-plated armor covered her womanly features.

Jee slammed the door open just in time to face the young girl in disguise.

"I'm here Lieutenant!" She raised her hands, "Sun's bright and I'm ready for the introduction!" She piped up, trying to act as composed for a person who had just woken up. Her oversized helmet slid down a bit and caused the elder officer to raise an eyebrow.

"Hmm, yes shining on all of us," he played onto her comment. He eyed her in the daylight more closely now. Jee took notice of the bruised eye and the split lip, he turned his gaze away quickly in order to avoid asking any unnecessary questions. "Work on your sleeping habits boy." He finally said, waving at her to follow him.

She followed his lead, still taking in all the corridors and halls of the ship, trying to remember her way around the maze. Zhao's ship was easy to maneuver about in the upper-class that she previously traveled in. To each royal navy ship, there were two residential parts; the working-class where the crew resigned and the upper-class where the elite stayed at.

Once on the main deck of the ship, Kirin felt the full sway of the ship and when a larger wave hit the side of the ship, she did not manage to keep her balance and stumbled, falling face down onto the floor. This caused laughter to erupt from the soldiers standing in and waiting for induction.

"Look at that little one," one of the older man named Ebisu spoke up, "He needs a personal escort from his room." the group busted into more laughter. Kirin turned red before she picked herself up.

"Oh, we'll have fun with this one, so tiny, he'll be in pieces by sunset!" Another said as Kirin past by them.

"Settle down soldiers." Lieutenant Jee said firmly, trying to contain the situation.

Kirin lowered her gaze and took a place at the end of the line up next to the other two new comers. They had been all recruited the same night before. Apparently, some soldiers decided to join Zhao's search party's due to better military options and resources, in the process leaving the banished Prince's crew short of a few man. This grew in favor for the young girl, desperate for a place to stow away. Her hope was that father would not suspect her to have joined _this_ crew.

She glanced at the lineup, only turning her eyes slightly to the right but without daring to turn her head. Most of the man looked either middle-aged or less than capable, more like fugitives and low-lives with no other options in the army. They all must have had a reason to join this crew. Lieutenant Jee was not a young man either, he looked at around father's age, graying short hair and facial hair to match.

"In a well-oiled machine, all the smallest parts must be working together." The senior officer stated, "For this ship to run smoothly, I will assign and reassign current positions to fit the ship's needs. You may be aware that we have lost five men to Zhao resources and military options, three of which were fire benders. I need well-skilled man." He looked around the lineup and stopped at the end, "Which one of the new comers can fire bend?"

The two men next to Kirin nodded proudly as a confirmation to the question.

"You two fire benders, you will accompany Prince Zuko on land in groups along with the rest of the soldiers."

"I'm not a bender but I can fight too!" Kirin interrupted before it was too late to grab Jee's attention.

"Kuo, can you handle yourself with a sword, have you ridden a komodo rhino before?"

"Yes, sir." She lied through her teeth but tried to sound convincing. The last thing she wanted to have happened was to get stuck with lowly job onboard. _'I'll just go with it, and catch up with fighting skills later.'_ she planned silently.

* * *

Once Lieutenant Jee had finished assigning responsibilities to everyone, moving people's shifts, new stations, and orders, they had all commenced with their duties. Kirin was stuck with washing the main ship's deck from previous fire bending training. The scorch marks covered a large portion of the floor, so she spent most of the afternoon on her knees, scraping the mess. She finished her job before sundown, whipping the sweat from her forehead.

A look of concern was painted on her face. She turned to the sea, sad at her own reality. The sun was setting slowly at the horizon line creating the most blissful colors at the sky. Having to work alone gave her a lot of time to think, as she scrubbed the floor the guilt that she pushed away right before she ran away last night found her again. Although she knew she was free, she couldn't help but to picture her family for a brief second. Her mother's worried and sad face appeared before her eyes, she shut her eyes tightly to scramble the image.

"You look a bit young to be in the army and out at sea." An older man spoke up while approaching Kirin, his voice was compassionate and he had a smile on his face, his question had a genuine curiosity to it. Kirin immediately recognized the older man as being the one she saw the banished Prince with at father's harbor. He extended his hand to help her up from the floor and she accepted.

She bowed her head slightly to the elder as it was customary to do so, "My name is Kuo sir, and I'm sixteen."

The elder man bowed his head back at the introduction, "I'm Iroh, retired General of the fire nation and Uncle to Prince Zuko." He chuckled slightly, "So sorry young man, you just have such a small frame that I imagined you being much younger."

"I uhh, get that a lot," She rubbed the back of her head at the remark. "This is my first trip out at sea and within the army."

"Well that's grand, your journey is just beginning then Kuo, glad to have you aboard." He said cheerfully while patting her back.

"Uncle!" Zuko's voice echoed from the other end of the ship, "Start my training session." He ordered while walking towards the pair.

"Zuko, where are your manners, meet the newest addition to the crew, this is Kuo and he's your age."

Kirin bowed her head to the Prince, "It'll be an honor to serve under you my Prince." She showed her respect to the young man, banished or not, he was still the Prince and heir to the throne of her nation.

Zuko let out a scowled breath, not interested in the introduction as he passed by them to the center of the ship.

Iroh put one of his hands up, shielding his mouth with it to the side, "Forgive my nephew, he has tendencies to be a bit impatient when it comes to training." He apologized quietly.

Iroh looked at the two teenagers, he sensed that maybe Zuko could use someone his own age around him, the company would do him good. It's been three long years that the young Prince had been at sea, away from anyone his age.

Kirin gathered the mop and bucket from the floor, ready to go put away the equipment and go back to her room to rest for the day.

"Kuo," Iroh spoke, stopping the young girl from leaving, "Why don't you join the training session?" He suggested. Zuko frowned, displeased at the idea.

"Apologies, but I will have to decline. I'm not a bender." She said with a hint of embarrassment in her voice.

"Nonsense! We're just doing stances to improve agility and accuracy and besides, you never know what hidden talents you have." Iroh chuckled, "With the right bending master, anything is possible."

Kirin's eyes light up, this was the chance she waited for. Father was always impatient and quick to judge her skills as unworthy of training further. Iroh was the complete opposite, she felt his calm and inviting persona and couldn't say no to it. She nodded and took her place ready for orders.

Zuko eyed the small soldier, irritated at his Uncle's idea. _'This will only slow me down.'_ He thought, fists tightened.

"Alright, begin with the resting stance," Iroh commanded, hands behind his back and watching the pair closely. Kirin and Zuko promptly obeyed, doing the same stance at once.

"Good," Iroh said, stroking his beard. "Now, Ma Bu stance! Gong Bu stance! Xie Bu stance!-"

Both of the teenagers were doing each stance accurately at the same speed, Iroh sped the pace of commands. At some point, this had become a contest between the two, and rather than just simple warm up stances, they would glare at one another after each stance, eyeing each one and searching for the smallest flaw in the other's movement.

Iroh continued, "Xu Bu stance!"

Zuko kept his attention to the small soldier for a bit more longer than he should have and due to that smallest loss of concertation, his foot turned incorrectly in-between stances and he lost his balance. Iron shook his head. Zuko growled lowly at this rookie mistake.

"- Du Li Bu, the final Single leg stance."

Kirin kicked her left foot upwards with her knee bend, and extended her arms to the opposite direction, perfectly finishing the set of stances. She was happy with herself, this was a basic workout that was taught to her many times by father and numerous trainers he hired throughout the years. Her fire bending stances were perfect, her breath control was always precise, but yet, there was never any sign of her ability to actually fire bend.

"Zuko, you are too focused on the individual stances, instead of concentrating on them as a whole, you need to allow your body to flow from one position to the next, look at Kuo-"

Before Iroh could finish his teaching, Zuko spun from the ground and knocked Kirin down from her stance, making her land on her face to the ground.

"Zuko, this is no competition!" Iroh announced, unhappy with his nephew's action.

Kirin looked up at Zuko who had a smug grin on his face.

"Zuko, give Kuo your hand and help him up!" Iroh demanded firmly.

Zuko snarled and picked himself up from the ground, 'You two can continue to do the basics, I need to learn advanced fire bending." He turned his back to them and started to walk in the opposite direction.

' _Don't you turn your back to me you spoiled brat!'_ Kirin's inner voice grew impatient with his attitude, she jumped up and lunged herself at the young prince, knocking the both of them down to the ground once more. Before Iroh could react, the pair were hitting and screaming at one another.

 _'Boys will be boys I suppose.'_ Iroh's hand landed on his face in a giving-up manner.

"This is my ship you peasant, how dare you!…" Zuko yelled, trying to land a punch on Kirin's face.

Kirin dodged it, "You spoiled royal highness, can't accept defeat!…"

Iroh prepared to step in to break the argument between the two teenagers that were rolling on the ship's floor.

"I'll show you what a fire bender can do!" Before Kirin could react, he pushed her off him and bound back swiftly onto his feet, Zuko swirled his arms and fired a hot flame straight at her. Kirin rolled over and dodged the first fire blast, two more came her way as the Prince grew angrier with each miss.

' _I'm making more enemys on this ship than friends, and the day is not over yet!'_ she mentally panicked as she rolled and jumped from each flame.

She could hear Iroh yelling at Zuko to stop, but they were already at the other end of the ship, right at the edge of the railing.

"You puny little filth!" Zuko shouted as he grabbed Kirin's wrist tightly. This was the same wrist that Zhao grabbed the day before and was still scarred and blistered from the burn. Kirin let out a yelp of pain as the Prince grabbed her with ease and held her over the other end of the railing, right over the sea. She held onto his arm with her free hand, scared that he would let go at any moment. She looked down at the sea below, gulping at the sight.

"Let go, I can't swim you maniac!" she pleaded desperately. Zuko grinned at the defeated voice.

"This is my ship, my rules, and order. Disobey me again and I will personally make sure that you pay the price." He warned just before tossing her back onto the ship. This time Kirin caught balance and landed on her hands and knees, still in shock from the situation she stayed in this position for a few seconds. Zuko shouted something her way but his words were not immediately picked up by her. Her fist tightened in defeat.

"Are you deaf!" Zuko's voice made Kirin snapped back to reality and turned to face the irritated young Prince. "I told you to leave the main deck!"

She picked herself up and gave Zuko one last glance before storming off past Iroh and into the crew's quarters. Lieutenant Jee missed the commotion, and only caught Kirin as she passed by him quickly as he was about to walk onto the main deck.

"Zuko," Iroh started, shaking his head in a disapproving manner, "He's new, there is no need for this behavior from you, their leader."

"I demand respect Uncle, and if I will not receive it I will force it onto my subordinates!"

"Respect is not something that is given from a status position, but needs to be earned." Iroh tried to offer words of advice but this only irritated Zuko more. It was the Prince's turn to walk away towards his room, but not before he grabbed Jee to the side.

"Lieutenant," Zuko's spoke in a less intense tone, "The new recruits are from Zhao's harbor?"

Jee nodded.

"Keep an eye out on them, I don't want anything compromising my mission."

"Of course Prince Zuko, are you afraid we brought some _rats_ aboard?"

* * *

 **Authors note:** The stances they did are ones which are done during Northern Shaolin training which is what inspires fire bending.


	5. Ch 4: Bold New Horizon

**Author's note:** Here is the next chapter, thank you to **Znkp, Nerdy J Fics, Daisy54154** for the great reviews and also, big thanks to the followers and the ones that favorited the story. I appreciate the support. Enjoy and review :)

* * *

 **Ch 4. Bold New Horizon** 地平線

Kirin stumbled into her room slamming the door behind her, making her way towards the washing basin at the other end of the room. She gently placed her burnt wrist into the cold water, letting a sigh of relief escape her lips as the cold water caressed her blistered and burned wound.

She looked up at the dingy broken mirror above the basin to see the reflection of a very weak soldier, beaten and humiliated once again. Her arms and legs gained a few new bruises from the rumble with Zuko earlier on. She grabbed a washcloth and soaked it in the cool water. She found her way to her bed, plopping down on her back from the exhaustion of the eventful first day on board. She placed the towel on the swollen lip Zhao gave her.

She allowed her body to rest and heal, but in the meantime, her mind was put to work. Visions of her mother haunted her as guilt would find ways to creep in no matter how hard she pushed it away. Behind closed doors, a weak imposter of a soldier laid, thinking of the life and family she abandoned. She did not get a chance to say goodbye to her mother, that would have been too risky. Zhao was most likely fuming from anger by now, out of his mind and searching for her. Her absence at the arranged wedding would be great humility to him.

' _How tragic.'_ She thought, smirked at the idea. She wiping the rest of her face with the cloth and calmly tossed it away.

She let out a low chuckle, _'No one said it was going to be easy.'_ Her will of fighting spirit still burned brightly from inside. _'I won't progress if I keep feeling sorry for myself, but I need motivation, a goal, something to reach for…'_

From the moment her arranged marriage was decided, her biggest desire was to free herself from the destiny father tried to push onto her. _'I need something…something to keep me going.'_

Her weary eyes opened and closed slowly, and her thoughts were cut short as her body gave in, falling into a deep slumber.

* * *

 _ **[Kirin's dream]**_

 _Kirin looked ahead from her family's home porch, she saw her mother attending the garden that she grew up in. Mina was on her knees, digging through the soil and placing fresh flower seeds in the most delicate manner. With each small seed, she would bow her head slightly to appreciate the beauty that it would give to the family's garden._

 _Suddenly Mina turned to faced her daughter with a smile on her face. Her mother's lips were moving but no sound was heard. Kirin listened in closer but no sound was coming from her mother's moving mouth._

 _Suddenly her mother's expression changed for that of fear and the garden combusted with flames of fire and surrounded her mother. Kirin tried to run toward her but her feet did not move, she tried screaming for help but no sound was coming out, she moved her arms to bend the fire but nothing was happening. She stood and watched helplessly as the scene unfolded before her eyes, the garden burning to ash slowly._

" _Kirin!"_

* * *

A voice of a stranger spoke through her dream, this prompted her to wake up and balance herself on her elbows from her bed. She looked around the room frantically but found no one there.

She gathered herself out of bed and looked through the small window in her room. It must have been very early in the morning hours as it was still quite dark outside. She did her early morning meditation while sitting on the floor then prompted herself to get dressed, today she wore clothes which consisted of gray and baggy long sleeve shirt with a pair of black pants, no shoes. Her hair tight up tightly as always. Today she covered her bust with bandages to conceal her womanly frame.

Yesterday's training session led by Iroh gave her wind in the sails as hope appeared within the girl. His words were inspiring to her, and she decided to start training each morning, breath control exercises and stances for now. She left her room to head out to the main deck where she would have more space to do her exercises. As she exited the dark corridors and walked through the door leading outside, fresh air mixed with the sea salt greeted her. The ship was moving, there was no rest for the helmsman - the mission to search for the Avatar was the priority on this ship.

Her own mission was forming in her mind. _'I am here now and might be able to make the best of the situation. Since I am already forced into this chase for some ancient tale of the Avatar…I will use this to my advantage.'_

She began her training on the empty ship's deck, starting with stretches and breathing exercises. She was a bit _rusty_ in her technique, as it had been a while since she trained. Her trail of thoughts continued _, 'I will gain experience and find my own path to power…'_

She had a good hour of peaceful training.

"Kuo, get in here we have ordered from the Lieutenant!" A voice interrupted the young girl, prompting her to look in the direction of the person who called on her. The voice belonged to Ebisu, the soldier who humiliated her with remarks the day before at the introduction. He was below deck and calling her in an urgent manner.

She immediately stopped and rushed down the stairs that lead below deck. Halfway down the stairs, someone grabbed her leg and made her trip, falling down the stairs and straight into a bucket filled with food leftovers from dinner the night before. Most of the crew stood around laughing, they were all in on the obvious prank.

Ebisu got down low to her eye-level, "There you go fresh meat, maybe this will have you running back home." The man joined the others in laughter.

"Won't get me that easy, I'm here to stay!" Kirin barked back right away at the older man's comment. She kicked the bucket away and wiped her face from the food waste with her sleeve.

"What is going on here?!" Zuko's voice broke the laughter between the men.

Ebisu stepped up, "Prince Zuko, I'm afraid we found this little swine rolling around in leftovers."

"I saw the whole thing. No harm done. Leave us." Zuko spoke firmly while eyeing the soldiers.

Kirin looked away from the Prince, he didn't say anything to her either. She heard him coming her way and in that moment she looked in his direction. His hand was extended towards her. She looked him up and after a few seconds accepted his helping hand less than eagerly. He gripped her hand and led her back to her feet. In a mere second, Zuko glanced down at the hand he was holding. The sleeve of her shirt that was slightly pulled upwards revealing am awfully burned wrist. He promptly let go and looked back up at the face of the soldier in front of him.

"Did I do that to you?" he asked rather quietly, now looking away with a hint of shame in his eyes. Zuko was no tyrant, he knew that by the example of his father, he never wanted to control people through fear and pain. On board the ship, he was one the youngest and often needed to resort to these types of actions to gain the command he required as the leader of the group. Sometimes his actions not only disappointed him but his Uncle. The battle within Zuko was exhausting and he felt the need to confront the soldier about his actions from the day before.

Kirin gave the young Prince a confused look, not catching on to what he meant by his question. After a brief moment, she realized that he spoke of the wrist he gripped the day before during their brawl. She pulled her sleeve down to cover the wound.

She shook her head slowly, "No it wasn't you," she spoke softly, "but that's not to say you made it any better!" she blurted out.

Zuko winced at the disgust in her voice, he was not very good at these types of situations, but he did feel the slightest bit of guilt and his Uncle's words have gotten to him. Somewhere along the line of his dishonorable reaction during the training session, he saw his actions were similar to that of the Commander Zhao. Not able to accept defeat, he allowed his anger to get to the better of him. He did not want to compare himself to that of the lowly Commander.

"Then don't cross my path again soldier. I am set on a goal and I won't have you getting in the way of my crucial training." Although he tried to weight his words carefully, this was the only thing he managed to say.

Kirin was slightly surprised at his words, with the way the conversation was going she expecting more of an apology rather than a warning. She was going to let this go and not hold a grudge against the Prince, he obviously had his story and reasons for acting like a jerk but this was none of her problems. She was grateful to him for getting the pack of riled-up soldiers off her back.

She bobbed her head in agreement, "Alright my Prince, thanks for the save today." Her words had a slight tone of ignorance to them.

She mentally laughed at the situation, he couldn't sincerely apologize and she wasn't able to honestly show gratitude. Somewhere deep down, she did hope that through the ignorance and irony of their words, perhaps there was a small part of honesty in them. Neither of the teenagers could fully express themselves in this difficult situation, as their egos would not allow them to do so.

With that, they parted ways for the day.

* * *

For the next few days, the search for the Avatar was much disappointing. No news of sighting was reported, and the crew was aimlessly sailing from one small port town to another.

Kirin was assigned to work in the kitchen and prepare food for the crew. This job allowed her to be away from most of the men from the crew which took every opportunity to ridicule and bully her. For the most part, she tried to avoid the moody young Prince as well. She excluded herself from any training that Iroh offered and mainly stayed in her cabin in-between jobs. In her free time, she trained in very early or late hours of the day to avoid being seen and bothered by anyone.

Still, she felt little satisfaction in her job and lack of progress in training. She ran away from her arranged marriage to not be a housewife stuck in the kitchen to one man, now she was a cook for a dozen of men. She sighed loudly, the cook turned to her but did not comment. The cook that she worked with was mainly a mute, kept to himself and let Kirin do her job in peace.

"Lil' man, go down to the docks and pick us up the fish I ordered for dinner, will ya?" The cook asked Kirin.

She nodded and headed out of the kitchen and into the port that was bustling with people buying and selling goods at the market. She looked around, thinking over the days she spent on the ship. This was a rather large Earth Kingdom town with forests and mountains extending along. For a brief moment, she contemplated her future and the idea of leaving the banished Prince's ship for good and continuing her journey from here - did not seem like a bad idea. Nothing was keeping her on this ship anyways.

The merchant passed the fishes to Kirin, "You won't believe the word around town!" He exclaimed.

Kirin raised an eyebrow at his words. The man was obviously excited about something and wanted to share it with someone, that someone turned out to be her.

"The Avatar has returned, and he's on Kyoshi Island."

"Indeed, that is good news…" she pondered for a second. She would pass on the rumor and the Prince would certainly chase after the Avatar. Kirin couldn't help but wonder if the myth of the Avatar returning was actually true. _'Perhaps I will stick around for a few more day…'_

"Such good news! His return gives a small light of hope for this war to finally end." He gleamed with excitement.

Kirin bowed her head to thank the merchant for the fish. She made her way back onto the ship to pass on what she had heard from the merchent to the cook. The word spread around the ship and the orders from Zuko to prepare for their departure to Kyoshi Island were given immediately.

* * *

The mission to Kyoshi was to commence in the afternoon hours. Kirin rushed to her room, late due to the excess amount of chores she was assigned to in the kitchen. She began to prepare for departure; sliding into her fire nation armor, fixed her hair up tighter in case of any foreseen battle, and taking extra time tying on her armor securely to her body. She ran a maze of halls to get below deck o where the kommodo rhinos were prepared.

"Good warm afternoon gentlemen, we couldn't have picked a better one for out detour today," Lieutenant Jee spoke over the bustle of the crew and the kommodo rhinos, "Gear up and prepare the beasts, I want everyone in positions once we hit the shore and the bow drops open!"

"The game is to keep up, not catch up _boy_." Ebisu patted Kirin rather roughly on her back. She looked at his kommodo rhino, ready with a saddle on top of its back. Ebisu and his partner climbed onto it. They were all paired in two-man teams, Kirin was stuck with the Lieutenant due to her lateness and him being the only one without a pair. The elder leader preferred to travel alone on the kommodo rhino, but due to uneven numbers, he allowed the smallest addition to the team to join him.

' _Damn, I'm behind already.'_ She mentally scolded herself for falling behind the men.

Kirin walked over to the creature and petted its head, the kommodo rhino let out a low snarl, steam escaped from its nose. She picked up the enormous saddle that was meant for the animal's back. The weight of it brought her arms down with it. This caused a chuckle from her rivaling soldiers. She looked at them both from the side of the kommodo rhinos.

"Ride bareback and see how long you'll last, I'll pay to see that!" Commented the man that was paired up with Ebisu, elbowing his partner. The two soldiers cackled at the remark. Kirin chuckled back, walking around and toward to their animal. She clicked on the saddle, unbuckling it in one move. The two men fell from the top of the rhino with a loud thump to the ground. Both suprised at the bold action of the little soldier. Kirin stood above the two, looking down to where they had landed.

"You mutt!" Ebisu snarled as he got up and grabbed Kirin by the collar, his angry face up in the girl's, noses touching.

"Let him go!" Lieutenant Jee spoke through the commotion as he placed the saddle onto his rhino, "Calm down Ebisu, no offense given."

"None taken," Ebisu spoke ironically, looking at the little soldier he held by the collar. She had a smug grin on her face. He tossed her off his hand before turning around.

"You're one lucky bastard," The other soldier spoke, as he put the saddle back on the rhino.

"You better listen to the boss, _boy_." She countered his comment back quickly, spitting next to the where he stood before.

The ship yarned and rumbled as they approach land. Zuko arrived to take his place on the kommodo rhino long after everyone else was stationed. He passed by Kirin's rhino, first time did she see the Prince in his full fire navy armor. Even though he was only a 16-year-old teenager, Zuko did seem to exhibit an intimidating aroura around him now that he was in the mission mindset and leading the crew. Her eyes followed him as if having a mind of their own, eyeing the Prince as he swiftly jumped onto the rhino.

Lieutenant Jee cleared his throat, he sat behind her and obviously took notice of her looking at Zuko. She bowed her head and gripped the rhino's lead bridle quickly to not raise questions.

All soldiers were stationed on the kommodo rhinos below deck, waiting for the bow to drop. There were no windows to the outside world and Kirin could not tell how much longer she would have to wait before they would head out to land. Anticipation builds within her in an uncomfortable manner, she could only hope that the opponents would not be too dangerous and that she would prove herself on the battlefield.

The ship halted once it met with the shoreline. They have arrived on Kyoshi Island, once the bow opened sunlight peaked through. Zuko lead the way out on his rhino and the rest of the kommodo rhino's followed the first without the need of handling its bridle.

"I want the Avatar alive," Zuko ordered.

* * *

 **Author's note:** I will try to post the next part of this chapter in the next two days. Kirin is getting quite a beat down lately but I'll give a break soon. Hope you enjoyed it, and any suggestions are welcome.


	6. Story On Hold

**Just a quick drop by to let my readers know where this story is heading and the future of posts.**

At the moment I am quite busy and working on a different story.

However, I adore this idea and I plan on making future chapters.

I'm excited about Netflix picking up on the Avatar: Last Airbender series, so perhaps around that time, I will start posting once more.

Many thanks for the wonderful comments,

 **Brandey Xoxo**


End file.
